Drew Goddard Confirmed to Direct THE SINISTER SIX

When it was announced that Sony was expanding its Spider-Man universe with spinoff films for Venom and The Sinister Six, we learned that The Cabin in the Woods co-writer/director Drew Goddard would be writing the latter film with an eye to possibly direct. Goddard is also attached to write and direct Marvel’s 10-episode Daredevil series for Netflix, so it was unclear whether he would be able to direct both Daredevil—a passion project for the filmmaker—and Sinister Six. Well luckily it appears that everything has been worked out, as Goddard has closed his deal to direct Sony’s villain-filled The Sinister Six. Hit the jump for more.

Per Heat Vision, Goddard has officially been set to direct The Sinister Six for Sony. This is certainly Goddard’s most ambitious undertaking yet, as he only just made his directorial debut with the excellent 2012 horror deconstruction The Cabin in the Woods. He got his start writing for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and subsequently wrote for shows like Angel, Alias, and Lost before penning the screenplay for the 2008 film Cloverfield.

For those unfamiliar with the property, The Sinister Six focuses on the litany of Spider-Man villains. Its initial comics incarnation consisted of Doctor Octopus, Electro, Sandman, Mysterio, Vulture, and Kraven the Hunter. Sony has made no secret of the fact that it wants to expand its Spidey universe in a manner similar to Marvel Studios’ approach to its properties, and indeed the impending The Amazing Spider-Man 2 appears to be laying the groundwork for The Sinister Six.

We already know the Spidey sequel introduces the comics villains Electro (Jamie Foxx), Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan), and Rhino (Paul Giamatti), and there are likely a few surprises still in store. Moreover, The Lizard (Rhys Ifans) wasn’t killed but was instead locked up at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man, so he’s a possibility to appear in Sinister Six as well.

No timetable is given for when Sinister Six might be released, but it was recently revealed that Sony plans to release a Spider-Man film every year. The first official gap appears between The Amazing Spider-Man 3 in 2016 and The Amazing Spider-Man 4 in 2018, so it’s possible that The Sinister Six could see a release in 2017 if Venom doesn’t take that slot instead. Alex Kurtzman, who co-wrote the screenplay for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and The Amazing Spider-Man 3 with Roberto Orci, is attached to direct the Venom spinoff.

While fine-tuning the Sinister Six screenplay, Goddard is currently gearing up to begin production on the Daredevil Netflix series in New York City this summer for a debut on the streaming service in 2015. Meanwhile, Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens in theaters May 2nd.

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